HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf today announced that he will rescind 46 outdated and unnecessary executive orders by previous administrations – some dating back 30 years – to continue his efforts to clean-up state government. Outdated orders include those from seven previous Governors starting with Gov. Milton Shapp.
“My administration is prioritizing cleaning up state government and eliminating waste, outdated policies and duplicative bureaucracy,” Governor Tom Wolf said. “Taking this step to streamline government and remove unnecessary directives allows for the executive branch to continue to lead by example in state government, as we have on ethics, government reform and curbing special interest influence.”
Removing three decades of outdated executive orders that are no longer relevant or have been superseded by legislation or other executive actions is part of Governor Wolf’s priority to modernize state government. Over the past two years, Governor Wolf’s GO-TIME initiative has saved $156 million, spurred innovation and launched new and revamped programs to improve customer service in state government.
Many of the executive actions being rescinded include boards, task forces, programs and commissions that no longer exist, including a Sustainable Water Infrastructure task force that never reconvened and a Public Safety Communications Council that was never actually established. In the case of Executive Order 1996-07, the Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education was defunded and closed in 2011, but the executive order remained in place.
Many other orders created policies that have either been codified in statute, superseded by new legislation or are no longer necessary. A full list of the outdated executive orders are below.
Issuance Number | Name | Issuance Date | Explanation for Rescinding |
1977-04 | Compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 | 8/3/1977 | This is no longer an ongoing program. |
1978-19 | Access by Handicapped Individuals to Meeting Locations | 12/19/1978 | EO supplanted by Management Directory 205.26 in 1992, implementing the ADA. Section 5 e. addresses the requirement to select accessible sites for agency programs and activities. |
1979-10 | Commonwealth Child Development Committee | 7/25/1979 | This committee no longer exists. |
1980-04 | Golden Keystone Discount Card Program | 2/27/1980 | This program no longer exists. |
1980-05 | Task Force on Employment Services to Displaced Homemakers | 2/28/1980 | Efforts now encompassed by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). |
1980-07 | Small Business Service Center | 2/29/1980 | This program no longer exists. DCED now has Small Business Champions. |
1981-04 | Federal Program Coordination | 2/9/1981 | EO is unnecessary for the Office of Budget to perform its duties. |
1981-06 | Pennsylvania Department of Health Advisory Board of Arthritis | 5/22/1981 | Any arthritis work within DOH is funded and guided by the CDC. |
1981-13 | Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped | 10/19/1981 | EO goals now covered by EO 2016-03 and existing statutes. |
1986-05 | Standby Allocations of the Volume Cap Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 | 10/2/1986 | EO now superseded by 2007 state statute 73 P.S. 400.2701 et seq. |
1987-01 | 1986 Allocations of the Unified Volume Cap Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 | 1/7/1987 | EO now superseded by 2007 state statute 73 P.S. 400.2701 et seq. |
1987-08 | Pennsylvania Emergency Response Commission | 4/20/1987 | The content of the EO was either codified or superseded by statute, specifically, Act 165 of 1990. |
1987-12 | Cultural Advisor to the Governor | 5/27/1987 | Position no longer exists. |
1987-19 | Delegation to Department of Environmental Resources Compliance with Federal Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act | 12/21/1987 | The Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Act supersedes and encompasses the goals of this EO. |
1989-08 | Municipal Waste Reduction and Planning Program | 10/17/1989 | This EO was issued prior to development of Municipal and Residual regulations. |
1990-01 | Municipal Waste Transportation Enforcement Program | 3/14/1990 | No longer necessary due to the passage of the Waste Transportation Safety Act of 2002 (Act 90). |
1990-04 | UNITED STATES BRIG NIAGARA – Flagship of Pennsylvania | 8/17/1990 | Content of the EO has been codified in Section 705 of the History Code. |
1991-05 | Environmental Training Partnership | 4/22/1991 | Training is managed through a DCED contract with PSATS with DEP oversight. |
1994-02 | Governor’s Office of PennPORTS | 3/29/1994 | PennDOT’s multimodal deputate now maintains jurisdiction and all duties pertaining to the ports. |
1994-04 | Governor’s Committee on Education Standards and Assessment | 5/18/1994 | The EO set a 1994 due date for a report. The standards and assessments recommended in the report were implemented. |
1994-05 | Nursing Home Loan Agency’s Authorization to Sell Loans | 11/4/1994 | The work required in this EO was completed many years ago. |
1995-02 As Amended | Drug Policy Planning Coordination | 12/19/1997 | Gave PCCD duties relating to the coordination of commonwealth drug policy. The duties were superseded by the creation of DDAP. |
1995-06 | Governor’s Community Partnership for Safe Children | 9/14/1995 | The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has since been created within PCCD to carry out these functions. |
1995-07 | Governor’s Executive Council on Recycling Development and Waste Reduction | 10/11/1995 | This EO was issued prior to development of Municipal and Residual Regulations. |
1995-08 | Governor’s Advisory Commission on Public School Finance | 10/11/1995 | The Advisory Commission completed its work in May 1996, when it submitted the report required in the EO. |
1995-10 | Governor’s Sports and Exposition Facilities Task Force | 10/27/1995 | Four professional sports stadiums were built in the late 1990s as a result of this EO. No further action is required. |
1996-02 | Implementation of the IMPACCT Commission Recommendations | 4/19/1996 | Replaced with the Governor’s cost savings measures. |
1996-05 | Municipal Waste Facilities Review Program | 8/29/1996 | This EO directed DEP and PennDOT to review and revise existing waste transportation and management policies. This work has been completed. |
1996-06 | Governor’s Advisory Commission on Academic Standards | 9/30/1996 | The Commonwealth has adopted the standards required by this EO. |
1996-07 | Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education | 12/20/1996 | Center closed in 2011 as a result of the elimination of all state funding. All resources were transferred to the PA Association of Environmental Educators |
1997-01 | Governor’s Travel and Tourism Council | 3/17/1997 | No longer in existence, superseded by statutorily mandated PA Travel and Tourism Partnership and DCED’s Tourism Office |
2000-02 | Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board | 2/14/2000 | EO superseded by the current state Workforce Development Board, whose functions and membership are mandated by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). |
2002-02 As Amended | Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Care and Education | 7/15/2002 | EO Codified at 4 Pa. Code Sec. 6.61 – 6.69 |
2002-08 | Governor’s Interagency Task Force on Energy | 7/18/2002 | Task force no longer exists. |
2003-12 | Governor’s Cabinet on Children and Families | 9/18/2003 | This group no longer meets. |
2004-03 and 2004-03 Revision No. 1 | Pennsylvania Business Tax Reform Commission | 3/4/2004 | Commission no longer in existence. |
2004-07 | Financial Education and Literacy | 4/29/2004 | Office no longer utilized and subsequent programs have replaced. |
2004-11 | Pennsylvania Election Reform Task Force | 12/13/2004 | The Task Force completed its work on May 12, 2005, when it submitted its final report. |
2006-07 | Governor’s Pandemic Advisory Council | 7/27/2006 | Advisory Council is no longer active. |
2006-11 | Governor’s Dog Law Advice Group | 12/22/2006 | This EO, and the 8-person Board created by it, are no longer necessary, since there is now a 25-member Dog Law Advisory Board |
2007-05 | Chronic Care Management, Reimbursement and Cost Reduction Commission | 5/21/2007 | Commission was transferred from Governor’s Office to DOH, which has replaced it with the Health Innovation deputate. |
2008-02 As Amended | Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force | 4/28/2008 | The Task Force completed its work on November 1, 2008, when it submitted its final report. |
2008-04 | Pennsylvania All-Hazard Incident Management (PA-IMT3) | 5/13/2008 | The commission established by the EO is non-operational. |
2011-07 | Pennsylvania Dairy Leadership Council | 9/28/2011 | This EO will be rescinded because it is no longer in effect. |
2011-08 | Interagency Coordination Advisory Group for Economic Development | 10/6/2011 | Advisory Group no longer meets. |
2014-06 | Interoperable Public Safety and Emergency Communications Governance | 12/2/2014 | This council was never established and there is a governance board for FirstNet, which functions well without the guidance from this EO. |
SOURCE: Governor’s Press Office